Scottish Forensics On Bbc

TV EYE

September 27, 2004|By ROGER CATLIN; Courant TV Critic

A week into the official start of the new network season and already things are looking pretty dull. The procedural police dramas are so similar and plentiful on the broadcast networks that a British variation really stands out.

A second season of ``McCallum'' (BBC America, 9 p.m.) returns with the appealing Scottish actor John Hannah, memorable from his film roles in ``Four Weddings and a Funeral'' and ``The Mummy'' and the brief TV run on ``MDs.'' As the season starts in the morgue of St. Patrick's Hospital in London's East End, forensic pathologist Iain McCallum is doing something you'd figure other crime scene investigators would have done by now -- going AWOL simply because he's sick of all the bodies and death.

His leave is not long, though, since fleeing a crime scene means his colleague Angela (Zara Turner) has to take over and she hits a man with her car while driving there. Investigating that accident is key to his getting Angela off the hook.

``McCallum'' has a grown-up feel, and enough envelope-pushing to scare off broadcast networks and make it unsuitable for kids.

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